Pondering over our tribulations

Freedom from ourselves

After reading the above posts by Dinindu de Alwis and Bombaimotai (Osh’s blog), I couldn’t help but notice the tone that both of them had in common. It exuded a tone of affection towards our nation, it emanated a quality of exasperation towards the injustices done to our country, and it radiated with a sense of deep rooted connection towards mother Lanka.

Which makes me think…

Will that pure intention and zeal ever see the light of day? Will it one day surface to shine on and release us from our bonds of corruption, lethargy, and futility? Will it shine on and bring an end to the darkness created by greed and prejudice that haunts our nation to this very day? Will it overcome the lure and temptation of power and wealth to rejuvenate this paradise that has been laid to waste?

Had Percy Mahinda Rajapakse endured and overcome the obstacles that have persistently indoctrinated the pure of mind and pure at heart, I believe that Sri Lanka would have been a better place.

Will there ever be a person who could ascend to the totem of power and use that power to deliver us from this quagmire we have put ourselves into? Even if there was a person who had the purest intention of selflessly serving the nation, what would the probability be of this person prevailing over the vices and depravity that is ingrained in our system? I am no pessimist, but I would say that the odds of the system prevailing over the pure at heart would have the final say. I’m not saying that it cannot be done. I’m just saying that it will take more than one person to rescue Sri Lanka from itself and its culture.

We have been traveling in a downward spiral ever since the day independence was gifted to us. Why is it that countries such as India and China continue to make strides in national development? Well for a start, they both fought for their independence. They broke away from the bonds of their oppressors through revolution and untainted love for something they believed in. We unfortunately were just given independence in a pretty little box with a shiny ribbon wrapped around it. And like other pretty little gifts with ribbons; once opened, it starts to lose its sentimental value and significance over time.

We are never proud of something that is truly ours. We mock our talent, ideas, and inventions and embrace something alien. We’re childish and immature enough to ridicule those who cannot properly express themselves in English. We’re gullible enough to believe and trust what anyone in power says for granted. We piss on our own jurisdiction and decrees. We’re fucking lazy! We have more public holidays than any other country in the world. We have sunk so deep into the mire of bribery and corruption, the light of day remains only as a memory. It is a pathetic state. And those who actually could do something to help Sri Lanka break away from this predicament lose hope looking at our disaster of a system and fly to foreign lands to seek happiness and prosperity for themselves and their progeny.

Even the fiercest patriots have succumbed to the delusion of power and wealth. Take a look at the once staunch critics of the government such as Wimal Weerawansa and Hemakumara Nanayakkara. They traded their voices and beliefs for worthless paper and a miniature throne. They were lured in by the call of the sirens of corruption on their way to the Promised Land of freedom and purity. Who or what are they now? Take a look at the so called ‘venerable monks’ who tarnished the name of the whole fraternity of Buddhist monks for a seat at the parliament and the luxury of a Mercedes Benz in exchange for their alms bowl and purity of mind. This system is powerful enough to attract those who will try to use it to their advantage and discourage and obscure those who are trying to expose it. And the ever gullible people of Sri Lanka STILL believe these bastards even after they’ve exposed their crooked selves. The Sri Lankan people are still following the carrot that keeps on luring them from one predicament to another.

It won’t be long until everyone bends to the will of a greater power. We are systematically being manipulated by the influences of nations that will soon acquire us like just another commodity, we’re unknowingly being bound and gagged into a space where freedom of speech and expression is nothing but urban legend, our political system has turned into the most successful get-rich-quick scheme in the country, and we are being manipulated into being people who can be commanded at the flick of a switch. Sooner or later, Sri Lanka would be transformed into an obscure little dot on the globe where it’ll actually become the pretty little satellite of India that everyone in the world thinks we are.

But how do we emancipate ourselves from where we are now?

I don’t know. I don’t think I could do it alone, and I don’t think you could either. I wish for a day where I see more of us out there, more of us trying to break away from these bonds that limit our words and curb our minds, more of us to reach out to the light from the darkness of the present, more of us to say no to the easy way out, and more of us to speak as one and condemn ourselves for riding on the wave of delusion and impurity.

Where and how do we move away from the predicament of now?

I guess we’ll only find out when we put all like minded people who are pure of heart, pure of reason, and pure of mind together and resist this ugly creature that is corruption, power, and greed; to gain freedom from ourselves. And only then will we be able to call ourselves true Sri Lankans.

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6 Responses

There’s this brilliant campaign run by the Times of India for their Independence Day called India Poised which made so much sense especially in relation to what you have said. Remind me to show it to you this weekend. One line in particular caught my attention : Are we going to keep thinking about what we should be doing instead of doing something about what we’re thinking?

exquisite! certain things you’ve pointed out here are beyond, so true. like when you say how childish and immature our people are to ridicule people just because they can’t speak english and also about the buddhist monks who have spitted upon all their dignity just so that their bald heads could take a place on the damn television, and to think there are still people who rely on these… ”i dunno whats!!” it’s the height of absurdity. not only are we the laziest nation on earth, but our people are headless stupid fools! We have turned in to rag dolls, that absolutely have no control of ourselves, who belive in each and everyword proclaimd by media or some stupid fat asses mouth. Until we realise that WE are the weapons to our freedom and NOT the people who are appearing to the world as the so called leaders of Sri Lanka, our nation we’ll never gain its serenity.

Nice post. I don’t think China fought for independence though:)..but I get what you mean. If it puts it into any perspective, the US got their independence in 1776. The black man got the vote in 1967, almost 200 years later. Now they have a black president. We are but 60 years into our journey, the fight for a just, fair country will be long. I still have hope though, if the US, after almost 100 years of slavery, 200 years of discrimination, can vote a black man into power, then we can change as well. It’s just a matter of time and generations.

My dates above might be a bit off, but just wanted to put the 60 years of independence into perspective. Nice blog:)

China did fight for independence. Mao Tse Tung’s Peoples Army defeated Ching Kai Shek and his pro-US Kuomitang in 1948 (or 49). And there was much bloodshed as far as I know.

But the thing is, Sri Lanka is no USA or China. Putting all plausible assumptions and facts together, one could say it is comparatively easy for a country like ours to develop in a short period of time taking into consideration our resources and location. Best example would be the story of Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew modeled Singapore with Sri Lanka in mind. And mind you, Singapore doesn’t have ANYTHING as an asset except its location.

Look at Singapore. Look at us.

I haven’t lost hope. I’m just saying it’s tough to imagine a developed Sri Lanka unless someone steps out of the grid and makes an interference in this cycle.